PG or VG E-liquids: Which Do Vapers Prefer?

Even if you’re brand-new to vaping, you likely know that all e-juices contain Propylene Glycol (PG), Vegetable Glycerin (VG), or most commonly a mixture of the two. However, you may not know the difference between them and how the ratio of PG to VG in a liquid affects the vaping experience. Read on to find out which PG to VG combinations are preferred by new and seasoned vapers depending on the device they’re using and why.

Vaper Preferences for Standard Tanks and Clearomizers

Most new vapers start off using an e-cigarette with a standard tank or clearomizer equipped with a replaceable, pre-built coil. These devices are great for new vapers due to their ease of use and simplicity. What PG/VG ratio is best for these devices? Preferences vary, because each liquid has its advantages. Once you know the advantages of VG and PG, you can decide the ratio that is right for you. 

PG Advantages: Propylene Glycol is much thinner than Vegetable Glycerin. This helps it saturate your coil and wick quickly when priming a new coil and between puffs of your e-cig. A fully saturated wick is important for preventing coil/wick burn-outs and preventing dry hits while you’re vaping. Propylene Glycol is also less likely to accumulate excessively on your wick and coil and "gunk it up." This means that when vaping high-PG liquids, you don't have to clean your coil very often, if at all. When PG is vaped, it also produces a stronger throat hit. This is a satisfying feeling in your throat that feels somewhat like when the smoke of a tobacco cigarette hits your throat.

VG Advantages: When Vegetable Glycerin is vaped, it produces large clouds of vapor that some vapers love. It’s also sweeter in taste than PG, so it can add a little extra sweetness to that flavored e-juice. If you’re someone who prefers less of a "throat hit," then a good amount of VG in your e-liquid will soften the throat hit produced by PG. In addition, if vaping causes you to develop a little dry mouth, you may also appreciate VG’s ability to combat it, since it moistens your mouth when you vape it. In fact, Glycerin is an ingredient in many mouth sprays and mouth rinses used to treat dry mouth.

What do most vapers today prefer? The most common ratio of PG to VG on the market today are 70/30. This ratio is popular because it allows you to experience the benefits of both VG and PG with fewer of the drawbacks.

Vaper Preferences for Dripping, Sub-ohm Vaping & RBAs

There are additional ways to vape that differ from the standard, pre-built clearomizers and tanks that most beginning vapers use.

One of these options is drip vaping, and you can try this by purchasing a drip tip for your e-cig. Since there is no wick on a drip tip, and you place just a drop of e-liquid on it before you vape, many vapers use it to vape high-VG liquids without worry of the VG gunking up a wick.

Sub-ohm vaping is another fun way to vape, and you can try it by purchasing a sub-ohm atomizer. These atomizers are more powerful than standard atomizers and clearomizers, and sub-ohm vaping enthusiasts typically love high VG liquids due to the large clouds of vapor they produce.

Advanced vapers often use rebuildable atomoziers (RBAs). These atomizers come unassembled and allow a vaper to create the atomizer of their dreams by using just the parts in the kit or adding addition ones. With RBAs, preferred PG/VG ratios vary widely, because every creation is unique and the builder often creates it to ensure it works well with their personal preferred ratio.

If you’re new to vaping, then keep this information in mind when choosing your next e-juice and its PG/VG ratio. If you love the clouds of a high-VG liquid, then you should clean your coil frequently or upgrade to a new device that works better with high-VG e-liquids.